Photo of Mike by Carl Hanninen

Biography

Mike Grandmaison is a talented Canadian photographer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the "heart of Canada". He was born in Sudbury, Ontario in 1954 and graduated from Laurentian University with an Honours degree in Biology in 1976. Following a 20 year career with the Canadian Forest Service in Edmonton and Winnipeg, Mike has been photographing professionally on a full time basis from Winnipeg since 1996.

His work has been widely published in leading magazines and books, and his stunning nature photographs have been employed by some of North America's top corporations. To view some of Mike's clients, refer to the Representative Client list.

Mike has taught photography for years, conducting nature-focused workshops as well as presenting lectures to various organizations. In 2010, he instructed at the prestigious Niagara School of Imaging at Brock University on the topic of "Making A Living in Nature Photography". Mike will be returning to NSI in August of 2011. In 2007 and 2008, Mike instructed at "Focus On The Rockies" for the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in Jasper, Alberta.

Mike is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Image Creators  (CAPIC), the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC), the Professional Photographers of Canada - Manitoba (PPOC-MB), the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (Manitoba Chapter) as well as a lifetime member and a past president of the National Association for Photographic Art (now CAPA). Mike has received accreditation in "stock" and "nature" from PPOC. Mike was awarded second prize in the Northern Lights 2007 Awards Canada competition for Excellence in Travel Journalism.

Assignment Photography

Mike's assignment photography takes him on location across Canada. He shoots for a broad range of corporate and editorial clients, in fields ranging from agriculture to architecture and from forest to factory. His academic knowledge and working experience in the natural sciences, coupled with his passion for photography, technical skills and an artist's eye, make him a sought after photographer for outdoor work. Uncompromising quality of craftsmanship, together with a signature style, distinguish Mike in this highly competitive field. Mike particularly enjoys agriculture and architecture assignment photography.

Mike has enjoyed producing coffee table books featuring his imagery. In 2004, Key Porter Books commissioned Mike to photograph a series of coffee table books. The first book, "Canada" (2005) quickly became a national best seller; it has been reprinted and been published by Chapters / Indigo under the title "Canada - Seasons of Wonder".  Mike has since published three other titles: "The Canadian Rockies" (2007), "Georgian Bay" (2008) and "Muskoka" (2010). He has recently completed the photography for an "Ontario" book. Mike has recently begun photography for a book about "The Canadian Prairies".

In addition, Mike has illustrated four business / tourism "coffee table" books for various Chambers of Commerce across Canada: "Canada's Technology Triangle", "London: Claiming The Future", "Hamilton: A New City For A New Millennium" and "Winnipeg: A Prairie Portrait" (a joint collaboration). He has also collaborated with colleague, Don Johnston, on an environmental book ("Healing The Landscape") for the Region of Sudbury, Ontario. He photographed across Canada for a European travel company and has photographed throughout the prairie provinces for The Canadian Wheat Board, AgriFood and Agriculture Canada as well as producing photography assignments for magazines such as Canadian Geographic, Harrowsmith, Ad Farm and Canadian Gardening to name a few.

Mike uses only the finest photographic and computer equipment available, whether in the field or in the office. He photographs digitally or with film, depending on the client's needs or wishes. For your next on-location assignment, consider Mike Grandmaison Photography for prompt, friendly and reliable service.

Stock Photography

Grandmaison Photography acts as a full service stock photography agency in Canada comprising of 100,000 photos, specializing in images of the natural world, agriculture, travel and Canadiana. Mike's extensive photo collection is available for use in advertising, annual reports, billboards, books, brochures, calendars, cards, displays, magazines, posters, web sites, etc.

We lease "Rights Managed" photographs only because our goal is to produce the best imagery possible for our clients who demand the very best from us. While we recognize that many clients are cost conscious, we try to find a balance. Creating excellent quality imagery requires considerable time, effort and expense, the reason why we don't offer royalty-free pictures. Often RF pictures are not the best solution because, in addition to being "second rate" pictures, they are often more expensive than "Rights Managed" images for one-time, non exclusive usage. As well, many clients often use an RF photo only once.

For your next project, search our Nature Stock Photo Library for that "right image". If, by chance, you don't find the image you're looking for, simply contact Mike by e-mail or phone (204) 254-3131 and inquire about your specific need.

Mike's images are also found in 5 other major collections in North America.

Articles about Mike Grandmaison

enVison The Limelight Is The Sweet Light by Kelly Waterhouse
Winnipeg Free Press Capturing Canada 1 and 2 by Morley Walker
Laurentian Natural Worlds by Jennifer Nault

Articles by Mike Grandmaison

gX Taking Stock by Mike Grandmaison
Country Manitoba ... Now this is God's Country

Mike has now illustrated more than a dozen articles for Outdoor Photography Canada magazine under the title "Discovering Canada".
Read the first installment called Prairies

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Fine Art Photographs - The Canadian Gallery

Mike's stunning nature photographs are in demand by collectors - as fine art pieces, for corporate decor, and for use as corporate gifts. Photographs of the natural world provide inspirational and meditative interludes from the occasionally charged and energized atmosphere of corporate offices, and Mike's intimate views of the natural world and exquisite landscapes provide the perfect compliment to structured architectural environments. His images can be found in national, institutional, and corporate collections across Canada.

Fine art photographs are crafted to the specific requirements of individual collectors, and can be matted, framed, crated, and shipped to anywhere in the world. Mike fine art photographs will now be featured through "The Canadian Gallery". The online gallery will launch in early January of 2011 while the physical space will open on March 19, 2011 in Winnipeg. Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement.

Artist Statement

“The natural environment is where I long to be. It's where I find peace and solitude. I love to capture fleeting moments of light and exploring for pattern, form, shape, line, texture and color. Although I particularly enjoy photographing early or late in the day to capture the “sweet light”, by keeping an open mind, I am able to continuously discover photo opportunities nearly anywhere. Although beautiful images can be made from every corner of the earth, I made a conscious decision very early on to focus on the Canadian environment. My life long task is to capture the essence of this land in beautiful images that speak to the heart”. - Mike Grandmaison

The Digital Revolution

Digital photography offers many advantages. Photographers can immediately view the images on the camera's LCD screen and this immediacy can save photographers and clients alike, important time and money. It also offers photographers the creative tools to process an image precisely the way it was envisioned. But digital photography is by no means without its disadvantages; it is normally more costly than conventional film photography and it also requires an incredible amount of time on the photographer's part to process the images and manage the large volume of high resolution files.

The digital revolution has, in many ways, been responsible for the poorer quality of published images we often see today. With film, the quality of the output files was for the most part the responsibility of the "film houses" which scanned the film and adjusted the files (exposure, color balance, contrast, saturation, etc) as well as making the proper conversions to CMYK and applying the appropriate amount of "unsharp masking" to the files before printing. Graphic designers, photographers and publishers depended on these film houses to provide this expertise. Custom photo labs had accumulated a similar knowledge of RGB printing.

With the advent of digital imagery, much of this knowledge went by the wayside. As inexpensive, consumer models of digital cameras flooded the market, many gravitated to them in order to cut production costs. They hoped to produce similar results to what they were so accustomed to with 35mm and medium format film. While digital cameras have come a long way, one of the most important factors that separates the "professional photographer" from the "amateur digital point and shoot" photographer is the expertise required to produce high quality digital files. It's the professional photographer who has now acquired this expertise in processing excellent digital files. Professional photographers understand the world of business and are committed to serving their clients by purchasing the high quality, digital equipment required to complete often very challenging assignments.

While there is a glut of digital imagery available today and often at bargain basement prices, it is frequently of poor quality. Often, "it all looks the same"! At Grandmaison Photography, we focus our efforts on producing high quality imagery and building long term relationships with our clients. We offer imagery that is often unique and not seen or used by everyone else! We want you to look different than the rest of your competitors. After all, we are in the business to make you look great!